Method and apparatus for heating groves or orchards



May 11 1926. 1,584,492

B. EITAYLOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING GROVES 0R ORCHARDS Original Filed June 12. 1922 '3 Sheets-Shefl May 11 1926.

- B. E. TAYLOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING GROVES 0R oRcHARDs 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 1922 -3a @1412. 75 f0fl May 11,1926. 1,584,492

B. E. TAYLOR METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING GROVES 0R ORCHARDS Ori inal Filed n 12, 1922 3 Sheets-Sheet s Patented May 11, 1926.

UNITED STATES BAYARD E. TAYLOR, 01 OAK PARK, ILLINOIS.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HEATING GROVES R ORGI-IARDS.

Application filed June 12, 1922, Serial No. 567,856. Renewed January 26, 1 925.

a method for heating orchards or groves during low temperature periods by the direct application of heat beneath the trees, without the production of smoke or gases deleterious to health or injurious to trees.

fruit or other property. a

It is a further object of my invention to produce a simple though highly efiicient de vice, low in cost and expense of operation, having a fuel storage capacity for one sea sons use, which may be left indefinitely in operating position under the tree without interfering with orchard cultivation or care.

It is a further object of my invention to produce a burningappliance wherein a con' stant and uniform flow of fuel to the fiame iis obtained by a burner unit comprising a oat.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a burning appliance which may be supported on top of a body of oil and will float in an upright position even though the oil container is not placed on a level sur- 2 face.

It is a further object of my invention to provide an oil burning apparatus in which wicks may be easily inserted and require no trimming.

Other and further import-ant objects of this invention will be apparent from the disclosures in the accompanying drawings and the following specification. V

The invention (in a preferred form) is 36 illustrated in the drawings andhereinafter more fully described.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is an external view of the closed apparatus.

Figure 2 is a sectional view with the cover removed and the chimney of the apparatus in operating position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing certain parts in elevation and il- 45 lustrating how the apparatus acts, when set upon a non-level support.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a transverse vertical section through one of the Wick tubes.

Figure 6 is a section upon the line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is an elevation of a part of a Figure 12 is a section upon the line- 12-12 of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a section upon the line 18-18 of Figure 12.

As shown on the drawings:

The burner is adapted for use with a suitable can 1 having a cover 2 with a bail 3.

When the apparatus is to be used for heating, the cover is removed. When the apparatus is to be transported it is done by means of the bail 3. Preferably a can capable of holding about five gallons is employed, but a can of any desired size may be used.

In the application of the device illustrated the can is shown as partially filled with kerosene or other hydrocarbon fuel capable of burning through a wick. The burner is supported by means of a floating pan 5 having a floor 6, and provided near its upper edge with two inwardly projecting ears 7, which serve as handles by which the pan may be lifted out of the oil when desired. A circular skirt 8 projects downward from the underside of the floor 6. serves as a housing for the lower ends of the wicks and prevents the wick holding devices from striking the bottom of the pan 1 as the device descends. These devices include wick tubes whichproject through the floor 6 of the pan and are secured thereto by fluid-tight joints, for example by soldering. In the illustration chosen three wick tubes are shown, but obviously a greater or smaller number may be used as desired, and they may be of the form illustrated or of any other form as desired. Each tube is a little more than twice as wide as the wick is thick. The wicks are inserted in the tubes by means of wick adjusting plates 10.

This skirt 7 These plates have at their lower ends a shoulder at each edge as shown at 11 in Figure 6. When the plate 10 is thrust into the tube 9 until the shoulder 11 engages with the lower edge of the tube, the upper edge of the plate will reach the point that will cause the wick to project the correct amount.

The wicks are inserted in their tubes by being folded over their respective plates 10, and the plates and folded wicks are "then pushed into the tubes until the shoulders 11 contact with the lower edges of the wick tubes. The fold of the wick at the upper end of the tube then projects from the mouth of the tube very slightly. Too great a projection of the fold of the wick is additionally prevented by a constriction at the end of the tube9, as shown in Figure 5 at 9. This constriction is formed by bending the upper edges of the side walls of the tube to form inwardly projecting flanges. Not only do these flanges stop the wick from protruding too far, but they also serve to confine the flame to the central rounded part of the folded edge of the wick. v i

Should the surface of the wick in contact .with the flame become coatedwith soot or charred or otherwise be in need of renewing, the plate 10 and the wick are withdrawn from the tube and the wick folded across the edge of the plate at another point of the wickand the two reinserted. The wick may be made to serve until its .whole surface has become unfit for use. The wick is never trimmed in the sense of being cut away.

In order to make the flow. of air 'to the flame regular, the wick tubes are surroundillustrated, this plate is secured by having a flange 14 soldered to the upper part of the boxing, but any desired means of securing may be employed. The plate 18 has notches 15, one for each tube 9, so that the two plates 13 between them accuratelyposition the boxing 12 with respect to the wicktubes.

The top of the boxing is closed by a over plate 16 having slots 17 one for each wick tube. As may be most readily seen from Figures 5 and 6, these slots are directly over and very close to the folded edge of the wick 20 so that the cover plate 16 co operates with the constricted. edges 13 of the wick tubes to prevent the flame from beingtoo thick. The cover plate 16 and the side walls of the boxing 12 are secured together by means of tongues 21 which project from the upper edges of the side walls through slots provided therefor in the cover plate 16 and are folded down against the upper surface of the cover plate, as shown in Figures 2 and 4.

The chimney 25 is guided into place by means of fingers 26, as shown in Figure 3 but is held spaced from the plate 16 by brackets 22 fixed to the lower edge of said chimney and resting on said plate 16. If the foraminated portion ofthe boxing 12 is not strong enough to support the weight of the chimney 25, it is conveniently reinforced by continuing the fingers 26 downward till they contact with the floor 6 as shown in dotted lines in Figure 3. The fingers may besccured to the side walls of the boxing 12 at their ends or along their whole length by soldering or other suitable means as desired. The whole weight of the burner, including the chimney 25, is thus supported by the floor 6, which is held up-by the fact that the pan 5 floats in the oil.

In the modification shown in Figure 7, the cover plate 16 is secured in the manner already described by tongues 21 to a boxing 82 similar to the boxing 12. The bottom of the boxing 32ris not, however, made of foraminated metal. Instead it is provided.

with notches 33, preferably located between the feet 8 1 by which it is secured to the floor 6. A similar notched lower edge 35 is used to provide for an inflow of air through the lower edge of the chimney supporting device 36 which rests upon the cover plate 16 and is secured thereto in any desired. manner, for example by tongues and slots similar to the tongues 21. Members 37 are struck out from the sides of the supporting device 36 and serve as a support for the lower edge of the chimney 25.

A modified form of the cover plate 1 6 is shown at 16 in Figure 8. It has slots 21 for the reception of tongues, 21, and, as shown in Figure 9, these tonguesv may be made to act as the support for the lower edge of the chimney 25. Slots 1? for the reception of the wick tubes 9 are also provided. At intervals around the periphery of the cover plate 16, slits are cut and the resulting strips are turned up, as shown at 40, to provide guiding fingers for the chimney 25.

Inthe modification shown in Figures 10 to 13, the floor 6 of the pan 4? is traversed by four wick tubes 9 arranged in pairs, each pair being surrounded by a boxing 43 shaped like a pitched. roof. At each end the wall of the boxing comes all the way down to the floor 6, as shown at 44 in- Figures 12 and 13, but along the sides the lower edge of the boxing is spaced away from the floor 6 to afford an entrance place for air. The side walls of the boxing do not come togetherat their upper edges, but form a narrow opening tubes.

45 just above the upper ends of the wick Secured to each end wall of the boxing 43 is a cross piece 46, which has at its lower edge projecting ears 47. At its upper corners the cross piece 46 is rounded, as shown at 48. A rectangular chimney 49 is placed in position by being forced down over the side pieces 16. The rounded corners 4:8 serve as a guide and the cars 47 serve as a sto and a support for the chimney 49.

n the operation of the device the burner and chimney are removed from the can 1, and the can is filled or partly filled with kerosene oil or other liquid fuel either before or after placing the heater under the tree. The burner is then placed on the surface of the oil so that it floats there. The chimney is not put in its place on the burner, but is laid on its side on the top of the burner and the cover replaced on the receptacle. In this position the chimney will not prevent the replacement of the cover unless the can has been filled too full. l/Vhen the chimney is in its upright position, however, it projects above the top of the can so that the cover cannot be put on with the chimney upright. Either before or after the oil is placed in it, the receptacle is carried to the orchard ready foruse whenever a condition of the weather arises that threatens frost. hen this happens, the attendant removes the cover 2, lights the wicks at their folded edges and places the chimney in position over the wicks. He then proceeds to the next heater and does the same. Preferably, the orchard is supplied with a suflicient number of heaters so that one may be placed under each tree. If desired, the heaters may be stocked with fuel and left indefinitely in operating position under the trees.

If the ground where the heater is placed is not level, the burner unit will still maintain an upright position because it floats upon the liquid, as indicated in Figure 3. The draught created by the flame forces air to descend through the mouth of the con tainer into the pan 5 and pass through the openings at lower part of the boxing 12 to meet the flame at the upper ends of the tubes- 9. The constricted character of the openings at the upper ends of these tubes, together with the narrow character and close position of the slots 17, insures that the flame will be of small size so that the oil is vaporized no faster than the supply of air will consume it, thus producing a smokeless and odorless flame. In order that the draught may not be too large, and in order that an abundant supply of air for the total consumption of the fuel may be afforded, the space underneath the lower edge of the chimney 25 is provided. There results a steady flame which will not be made to flicker or smoke by wind or other air disturbances.

In the form shown in Figure 7, the air, which supplements the lower supply through the openings 33, enters through the openings 35 and also through the space between the chimney support 86 and the chimney 25.

In the form shown in Figures 8 and 9, the supplemental air is supplied through the space between the lower edge of the chimney 25 and the plate 16, this space being afforded by the lugs 21.

In the form shown in Figures 10 to 18, the lower supply of air is through the space between the lower edges of the housing 43 and the bottom 6 of the pan. The supplemental supply of air is between the lower edge of the chimney 4-9 and the oblique wall of the boxing 43.

lVhen the burner is lighted, the upper edges of the tubes 9 are heated for a moment, for example by means of a gasoline torch. The upper edges of the tubes, therefore, serve to vaporize the hydrocarbon in the wick which is replaced by liquid fuel drawn up the wick by capillary action to be vaporiz'ed in its turn. The vapor emerges from the end of the wick and mixes with air supplied from below. This mixture has considerable velocity. A little of the fuel vapor therein burns with a blue flame. The most of the vapor goes through the slot 17, where it meets the supplemental air and burns without the formation of any perceptible smoke although with a yellow flame. The base of the flame, together with heat radiated from the higher part of the flame, serve to keep the upper end of the tube hot so to vaporize more hydrocarbon and thus continue the process. The constricted mouth of the tube 9, by shielding a portion of the. wick from the radiated heat and by restricting the area of the base of the flame, limits the rate of vaporization of the fuel. Consequently the amount of vapor delivered through the slots 17 is never too much for the air which is supplied above the plate 16. In this way, a steady flame, free from smoke, is insured. In this way, too, the rate of. consumption of fuel is kept low so that the a burner of the sort described will consume only about two quarts of kerosene in a night. Consequently the economy of the burner is suflicient to make it possible to use one under each tree.

W By placing the burners under the trees inplacing the burners beneath the trees, the descending currents of cool air are forced to occur in the spaces between the trees, Where they do less harm than if they descended through the foliage. The old style smudge pots gives too intense a heat to make it safe to place them beneath the trees. They would be likely to injure the tree by overheating. The restricted character of the'fiame in my burner and the smaller size ofmy heating units avoid this objection to placing them beneath the trees.

I am aware that many details of construction .may be varied through a wide range without departing from the principles of.

this invention, and I am likewise aware that the arrangement and distribution of. the heaters may be varied considerably without such departure, and I therefore do not purpose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the prior art.

I claim as my invention: a

1. In a device of the class described, a

1 portable fuelreceptacle, a burner adapted to 2. In combination, an .oil receptacle, a pan adapted to float upon said oil, wick tubes projecting through the bottom of said pan, the upper ends of said tubes being .below the upper edge of said pan, and air limiting and guiding appliances surrounding said wick tubes.

3. In an oil burner, an oil receptacle, a pan adapted to float upon said oil, a wick tube projecting through the bottom of said pan, the upper end of said tube being below the upper edge of said pan, a boxing Within said pan surrounding said tube,said boxing being perforated at its lower portion, a cover for said boxing having a slot therein over the mouth of said tube, and a chimney supported by said cover and open at its lower end.

4. In an oil burner, an oil receptacle, a pan adapted to float upon said oil, a wick contained in the bottom of said pan and in contact with saidoil, and air limiting and guiding appliance-s surrounding said wick container.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name.

BAYARD E. TAYLOR. 

